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Thursday 29 Aug 2019

Vital track upgrades for Calton Tunnel

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Engineers will be renewing the track through a key Edinburgh rail tunnel next month in a £1m investment in Scotland’s railway.

The Calton south tunnel, to the east of Edinburgh’s Waverley station, will be closed on Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15, before reopening for customers at the start of service on Monday, September 16.

Engineers will be working around-the-clock to replace life-expired rails, sleepers and ballast in the tunnel, which connects Waverley to the East Coast Mainline (ECML).

In addition to the Calton tunnel works, Network Rail will also be renewing track, signalling and drainage at several locations on the ECML between Drem and Dunbar over the same weekend.

These engineering works cannot be delivered without some short-term disruption to journeys through Edinburgh Waverley, including to some services to the west of the city.

Passengers are being urged to check National Rail Enquiries, or with their individual train operator, to see how their plans may be affected.

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland Route Director, said: “Our engineers will be working hard throughout the weekend to complete these vital upgrades – which will help to deliver a more reliable service for passengers on the East Coast Mainline.

“We understand the inconvenience this work will cause to some customers, but such a significant investment cannot be delivered without temporary disruption to services and every effort has been made to reduce the impact of our activities as much as possible.”

Further details of changes to services during the work can be found at:

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.aspx